


wash away the day

by Marleycat



Series: treat [1]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25835347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marleycat/pseuds/Marleycat
Summary: Patrick comes through to make David's rough day a little better.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Series: treat [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1874614
Comments: 8
Kudos: 120





	wash away the day

**Author's Note:**

> I want to work on writing shorter (<1000 words) works especially as my free time will be diminishing, so this will be a series of ways that David and Patrick treat each other. Non-chronological, but I will indicate about where each story takes place. Rating may increase.
> 
> \--Set after S5 “Housewarming”, but before “M.V.P.”--

It had been a long day for David.

He nearly slept through his alarm, Alexis hogged the bathroom, his coffee burnt his tongue, he had to put an ugly band-aid over his thumb after catching his hand on a shelf, their credit card machine only wanted to work about 75% of the day, and a man who dialed the store on accident yelled at _him_. Then as Patrick was leaving to get ready for his regular Thursday night baseball practice, two van loads of retirees descended upon the store. After nearly a dozen separate skin care consultations and purchases that went past closing, it also necessitated a major restock and reorganization of the sales floor. David had shooed Patrick away when he offered to stay as the customers piled in, but by the time he walked to Patrick’s apartment, his overnight bag dragging behind him, David could have crawled right in bed and stayed there until morning.

David decided the best thing to do was take a shower and then cobble together some sandwiches for them to have when Patrick got home. After allowing himself to starfish on his stomach across the bed for ten minutes, his face pressed into Patrick’s pillow inhaling his scent, he pulled out his change of comfy clothes and headed to the bathroom.

David recognized the body wash bottle from their vendor Margaret sitting on the corner of the vanity. A Post-It note was affixed to the cap with a Patrick-drawn smiley face as it’s only inscription. David picked it up and noticed that in place of the normal Rose Apothecary label on the front, there was a handwritten tag indicating its scent profile and it made David gasp.

When he had smelled this new formulation on their buying trip a few months back, it rocketed David back in time. He didn’t know how to place it exactly, but it was the perfect combination of everything that made him feel safe and secure from his childhood; the simple sugar cookies their chef had waiting for David when he got home from school, Adelina’s sweet perfume as she put him to bed with a kiss on his forehead, the richness of the leather furnishings from from his mother’s dressing room, and the back garden where he would sit with a book when no one was around to talk to. Throughout his hedonistic travels as a young adult, David had tried to chase down anything that recreated these memories. Even after going to the best perfumeries, flower markets, bakeries, and spice dealers across the globe, he always came up short and disappointed. 

Patrick had recognized the emotions breaking across David’s face as they sat at Margaret’s kitchen table trying out items that day. He had had David go out onto the porch when Margaret was getting more testers from her packaging room, telling her they needed to make an important phone call. Wrapping himself fully around David, he let him weep quietly into his shoulder without making him explain until David volunteered the information halfway through the car ride home. Patrick held his hand across the console and listened.

They put in an order for the store immediately when they got back and David had sketched a new store display for it in his notebook by that night.

Unfortunately, Margaret had a hard time sourcing the ingredients she wanted after creating her test-runs without making the cost prohibitive and butting up against some difficult customs regulations. She had sent an email about a week later that she wasn’t going to make the scent anymore. When Patrick carefully broke the news, David’s whole face pinched together and he proceeded to clean every surface in the store over the course of two silent hours.

He eventually came to accept the business decision, but felt like the one positive thing from his past had been snatched away from him. 

Looking now at the bottle in his hand, he wondered what magic Patrick had to pull to get this for him. It was one thing to have someone’s love, but for a person to see you that deep down and know what you need before you yourself even know was almost too much for David. It was just a bottle of body wash after a shitty day, but it was everything.

After wiping away a couple of fat tears, David turned on the shower to heat up. He slowly peeled his clothing off as the steam filled the small room. Pulling back the curtain, he placed the bottle down and let the water cascade over his body before washing his hair and putting the deep conditioner in. He hadn’t even opened the bottle yet, but his scent memory was so strong from that day at Margaret’s that he could feel it surrounding him already.

David carefully opened the bottle and inhaled slowly after he brought it to his nose. He shuddered and his bottom lip popped out until he could tuck it back in between his teeth. He let a very small amount drip out onto the loofah and started to scrunch it up. After the suds enveloped his hands, he slowly dragged it down his chest. Closing his eyes, he could almost taste those cookies and remember how safe he felt when Adelina tickled and then tucked his feet in. He envisioned his mother’s monochrome outfits laid out on the leather chaise and felt the still summer air on that garden bench. Warmth bloomed in his stomach and replaced the tension of the day.

A small knock brought David back to the present and he could feel the cool air rush in as the bathroom door opened. Ten seconds later, a naked and slightly dusty Patrick pulled back the shower curtain and stepped in. 

Wrapping his arms around David’s waist and leaning his face against his neck, Patrick whispered into David’s ear “Mmm, you smell perfect.” as he took the loofah from his hands.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and for any kudos/comments. Be well!
> 
> Feel free to say hi on tumblr: [simplymarleycat](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/simplymarleycat)


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